Come to the Light
by queen-of-whump
Summary: When the Doctor finds out that his future self needs him to change history, he must hurry before it's too late. He relies on a stranger, Melaina Grey, to help him get through, especially after an injury slows him down. Rated T for violence and apocalyptic horror. Shameless DOCTOR!WHUMP!...Chapter 9 is up! I don't own Doctor Who or BBC. (story on hold momentarily! not updating)
1. Chapter 1

So many strange things had happened, so much trouble and so many inexplicable events. Ever since that doctor bloke had shown up on Melaina Grey's doorstep.

Then her brother Eddie had started getting sick. Her mother had disappeared. And every single night, the sky turned green. Not a faint green mixed with the black of night, but a vibrant green...brightly blocking out the stars. Meteorologists were at a loss. No one could explain it.

Most people locked themselves in at night, claiming that the sky could kill them. Melaina couldn't do it though; staying inside was so incredibly boring when there was something so incredible and terrifying to experience.

"The sky is falling, Melaina." A quiet voice said behind her.

She turned to face a short young woman.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?"

"Doctor Martha Jones."

"Weird doctors lately." Melaina whispered to herself.

"Don't get me started." the girl laughed. "You met him, then? The doctor?"

"Yeah, I think I did. Really weird bloke...talked really fast..."

"Yeah, that's him." Martha Jones laughed again.

"How do you know my name?"

"He told me to come and find you." the woman answered. "Melaina Amber Gray. The girl who...no. Sorry, not supposed to tell you that bit yet."

Sophie couldn't do anything but gawk at her.

"Sorry. So sorry. I must sound like a complete crazy." Martha slapped her palm to her forehead. "I sound like him."

"A bit, yeah." Sophie found her voice. "Do you know why the sky's gone green? You said it was falling."

"Yeah. But it's better to let him tell you that bit." Martha grabbed Sophie's shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Listen closely. You have to find him."

"How? Why?"

"Can't tell you why. Just how." Martha grinned. "This is when it's nice to know him. I can tell you exactly how to find him. Tomorrow morning, 9:18am. All you have to do is be at Struck harbor, dock 7, at exactly that time. 9:18."

"Is it safe?" Melaina breathed. She wasn't sure why, but the strange woman dazzled her. She felt like she might actually do as what was asked of her and show up for this stranger; this doctor.

"Course not! It's the doctor, why would it be? Here's where it gets so tricky though, Melaina." Martha let go of her shoulder and stared at the sky. "It's not going to look like the man you met earlier."

"Why?"

"He's a completely different person, see?"

"No."

Martha sighed. "I wish I could explain. I can't. I just can't, we've no time." she dug around in the bag in her hand. "Here's a photo. This is him."

Melaina studied the picture. "You're right. Not the man I met."

"I know. This doesn't make a lick of sense. But I really need you. He needs you. So much."

Melaina flashed back to the moment when the Doctor had appeared on her doorstep only days earlier.

"Why me?"

"I can't tell you that. I'm sorry. It's just...it has to be you."

"Okay." Melaina's eyes widened. The word just kind of popped out of her mouth; but then again, she wasn't considering retracting it.

Martha saw her expression. "I know the feeling." she smiled. Her brow furrowed. "There is still so much I don't know about him. Funny. But, Melaina, you can trust him. No matter what. You can trust the Doctor."

"Even if I can, what am I supposed to do?" Melaina pleaded.

"Listen very carefully. You cannot tell him that I sent you. Everything with me is over. It can't be me. He's on his own right now. Got that? Do not mention my name under any circumstances."

Melaina nodded. "So I know what not to do. What's the other bit?"

Martha leaned forward earnestly. "Tell him that he sent you to himself. From two thousand fourteen."

"You're teasing me."

"I know it's hard, but please. Please, we've got no one else. You have to tell him that he sent you from twenty fourteen, and tell him that he has to seal what is broken. He's got four days.

"Don't let him use his TARDIS. Ask him what it is, and when you know, keep him away from it. And one more thing. This might sound a bit weird."

"Any weirder than the rest of it?"

Martha smiled. "I guess not. Keep him away from the East Wing Church at all costs. This bit will be so hard, because everything that happens will seem to lead you there. But don't let him go. If he does...well you don't want to know what happens. All I can tell you is that it will be horrible."

Martha sighed and touched Sophie's hand. "Can you remember all of that?"

Melaina nodded.

"I'm so sorry that this can't make sense."

"Will I understand when it's over?"

"I don't know."

"Fat lot of good you are." Sophie blurted crossly.

"Tell me about it." Martha said lightly. "Now, off you go. I would really suggest getting some rest while you can. The next few days will be quite overwhelming. And that's a doctor's order for you, Melaina Gray. Rest."

Melaina nodded.

Then, Martha Jones simply turned around and walked away.

Melaina sat up all night, wrapped in the frayed red quilt from her mum's bed, and holding the picture of the doctor in front of her. He was thin, with a mess of brown hair and an amused expression. Nice looking man. There was something about him though. She couldn't put her finger on it; but the long she looked at that picture, the more she recognized the man she'd met before. The other-but-same doctor. And it scared her to death.

The sunrise found her pacing the floor. She was in over her head. She had agreed to go to the docks to meet a stranger who was two different people, and she had no idea why she was going. All she had was the word of yet another stranger.

Plus, the sky was green.

She sat on the floor and pulled the quilt over her head.

The docks were colder than usual, and oddly quiet. Melaina wrapped another length of her brown scarf around her neck and rearranged her honey colored curls. Most businessmen in this area had shut down, all in fear of the grass colored sky.

9:15. Three more minutes.

She looked around, rising to the tips of her toes as she scanned her surroundings. There was absolutely nothing in sight. For the millionth time, she made sure that she was at the right spot. Seven. That was right.

9:17. Melaina bit her lip. Something must be wrong. Surely there would at least a sign of the doctor's approach, a boat in the water or a car coming towards the docks. Even a man walking towards her.

But there was nothing.

Suddenly, a whirring, moaning sound hummed around her. The air in front of her blurred and splotched. A blue box appeared only five meters ahead of her. Melaina was rooted to the spot, utterly fascinated by the scene unfolding before her. As the box continued to solidify, she saw that it was an old police call box.

The funny noises stopped, and there was silence. Sophie continued to stare expectantly at the box.

The door slowly creaked open, and the man from the photograph emerged. He looked tired; nothing like the energetic portrayal of him in the picture. He looked out at the sea, then slowly turned to face Sophie. He started at the sight of her, and for a moment was at a loss for words. The two of them stared at each other for a moment.

"Hello." he finally said.

"Hello." she said.

"How long have you been standing there?" he asked.

"Twenty one minutes. I was afraid I would be late." she said.

"Late? For what?" he asked.

"Not sure. I was waiting for you, though."

"Me? But..."

"Is that your tardel?" Melaina asked, pointing at the box.

"My what?"

"Oh...am I saying that wrong?" Melaina sighed. "How's it called?"

"TARDIS." He said slowly. "How did you know?"

"It's complicated." she said.

"Try me. I like complicated." the man said, adjust his striped suit coat.

"You sent me. From twenty fourteen." she said quietly.

"Oh. Did I? Fascinating." he stepped closer to her. "What's your name?"

"Melaina Gray." she said.

"Lovely to meet you, Melaina! Now, what did I tell you to tell me? This ought to be brilliant." He shook her hand and plunked down on the edge of the dock. "Take a load off and tell me everything."

"You sent me from twenty fourteen to tell you something."

"What was that something?"

She closed her eyes, trying to remember exactly. "You have four days to seal what's been broken."

"Anything more specific?"

"No."

"Ah." the Doctor raised his eyebrow. "Making a mental note of that. Be more helpful to myself in the future."

He jumped to his feet and pulled her up with him.

"Well, let's go then! To seal what's been broken, yes?" he sprang to the door of his box and reached his hand out.

"Wait!"

"What is it?" he turned and faced her quizzically.

"That's the other bit...the bit I forgot. You can't use that. At all."

"Why?" his posture resembled a puppy that had been told off from a treat.

"I don't know." she threw her arms in the air. "I don't know."

"Well." he stuck his hands in his pockets and spun away on his heels from the police box. "I trust myself more than anyone. No TARDIS then." he hesitated. "You're sure about that, though? Not at all? Not even a tiny little bit?"

"Not at all." Melaina confirmed, relieved that turning him away had been so easy.

"Well, that's disappointing." he remarked. "What was your name again?"

"Melaina."

"Well, Melaina, do we know each other?"

"'Fraid not." Melaina said.

"Interesting. Why you then? Of every person on earth, why you?"

"I'd love an answer to that myself."

"Ah...oh...probably something to do with crossing my own time line. Wouldn't want that now, would we?"

"Cross your what?"

He looked at her. "Oh. Sorry, what exactly do you know about me?"

"You're weird...er sorry. Not normal."

He nodded, staring deeply into her eyes. "Anything else."

She looked back at him. "No. Nothing else."

He smacked himself on the forehead.

"Blimey! Future me...such a bad planner."

He opened his mouth and gestured vaguely. "Ah...no. Needs more explanation than that. Fancy a coffee, Melaina?"


	2. Chapter 2

An hour later, Melaina stirred the dregs in the bottom of her coffee cup. The doctor sat across the table from her, his hands palm down on the table top.

"So...time traveler."

"Time lord, actually. Yes. I travel through time and space." The Doctor replied.

"And you're...really old."

"Oi!" he ran his hand through the brown spikes of his hair. "Does it show?"

She grinned. "No, sorry."

"Nine hundred and seven next month, thank-you-very-much." he stated regally.

"Right. So...the you from the future wants the you from the past to do something. Why can't you-future you-come back and do it himself?"

The doctor put his chin in his hand and gazed out the window. "Don't know...might have something to do with my time line again."

"I'm sorry, what is it with this time line?"

"My own life. I can travel to any event in history; any where, any time, so long as it's not something in my own life."

"Well, that's no good, is it?" Melaina exclaimed. "I always imagined going back and fixing stuff in my life; you know, if I could travel through time. You know, stay away from the shrimp at Debby's twentieth, pick the lotto numbers. Or go and do lots of things at once in different places! Pick up my dry cleaning while I do my homework and go to my job. Stuff like that. Why doesn't it work like that?"

"Some events in time can't be rewritten." the doctor explained. "They're fixed points. If you try to change them, you rip a hole in the universe."

Melaina nodded. "And that's bad?"

The doctor nodded and looked at her with an amused expression. "Pretty bad, yeah."

Melaina brushed a stray curl out of her face. "So, what do we do?"

"Well, that depends on what _you_ want to do."

"What do you mean?"

"Did I, er, future me, instruct you to stay with me? Or to deliver the message and go?"

"I'm supposed to stay...I think." she replied. "I'm not sure...but yeah, I think I'm to stay."

"Good. Brilliant! Because you know what, Melaina Gray, I like you."

"Whatever for? We've only just met!" she laughed.

"You stood on a random dock for half an hour, not knowing who I was or exactly why you were waiting. You leaped head-on into the unknown. That's amazing."

"Oh." she said, blushing.

"Yes, Melaina Gray, I think you're going to turn out to be something special. Now...let's go."

Melaina stood up and scooped a handful of coins from her pocket and laid them on the table.

"Oh...right...sorry about that. I'm a bit vague on money." he patted the pockets of his jacket apologetically.

"Don't worry about it." she shrugged. "Where are we going?"

"Well, that's really the question, isn't it?" they stepped out onto the street, and the doctor squinted up at the sky, which was its normal blue hue in the sunlight.

She was staring at him, trying to take him all in, when he suddenly whipped something out of his pocket with a flash and started waving it up and down.

The long, pen-like device in his hand made high pitched whirring sounds as he pointed it-seemingly randomly- at the sky, the ground, and certain people walking down the street.

He turned to scan her and saw the puzzled look on her face.

"Sonic screwdriver." he said enthusiastically.

"What does it do?"

He'd already turned away from her, though, and was walking down the street.

"Alright, then." she pulled her bag over her shoulder and took off after him.

"Ah! Ah." he squinted at the blinking light on the device in his hand. "Not what I was expecting."

'What is it?" she scooted up next to him and peered down at the screwdriver.

"Haven't seen this in ages." he raised an eyebrow. "Congealed martian particles. Haven't crossed the martians in years."

"Aren't you one?" she asked.

The look on his face changed her mind. "Sorry. Not from Mars." she giggled as his indignant expression slowly faded. "Sorry."

"'S Alright." he smiled. He squinted at the sky. "Actually, I've gotten that more than you would think."

"So...what are we going to do?"

"Well..." he flipped the screwdriver over his fingertips and tucked it back inside his tan jacket. "Obviously, we've got to track down the Martians who left the particles behind."

"How are we going to do that?"

"The closer we get, the stronger the density of the particles gets. Isn't it obvious?" he grinned and grabbed her hand. "Come on!"

Melaina laughed helplessly as he dragged her down the street with one hand and pointed his sonic screwdriver with the other. They got turned around a couple of times, but finally seemed to be on a solid track.

"So, what do you think it means? Sealing what's been broken?" she asked him.

"No idea. It has to be connected to the Martians, though. Has to be."

"Wait. Oh!" he smacked himself on the forehead. "Oh, oh, oh! Yes."

"What is it?"

"This is the year 2010, correct?"

"Yeah. What of it?"

"The Excelsior Gate!" He cried. "Of course, why didn't I see it before?"

"The what?"

"Oh, this is too good." he turned to her and started frantically gesturing. "The Excelsior Gate was built by some of the most brilliant protectors of earth – with my help- about ten years ago. It has the biochemical abilities to prevent only certain life forms from passing into earth's atmosphere...this is specifically for the extraterrestrial races that have violated the laws of the Shadow Proclamation." he caught her confused look. "Long story...basically the can's and cant's of visiting earth. And Martians are among those forbidden races."

"And if there are Martian particles, doesn't that mean that the gate isn't working?"

"Yes! Brilliant, Melaina, you're brilliant." he beamed.

Melaina blushed.

"This must have been what was broken! What we need to seal again. The problem is, where's the break in the gate? And what caused it? And how many have gotten through the break? And how do we close it again? That bit's tricky...and a bit nasty, and honestly...I'm starved. Care for some chips?"

Melaina, head spinning from the doctor's rant, barely heard the rest of what he said. They walked about a block until the found a chip stand, she payed for the chips and handed him one of the greasy paper packages, thanked the man, and trudged along beside the Doctor as he continued to talk a million miles an hour, dramatically waving his hands or his chips in the air at any given point. She caught a couple words; just enough to know that the Excelsior Gate being broken was an event that could mean the end of the universe, and that Martians were particularly nasty and evil creatures. He also listed ten or so other species that were banned from earth and why. When her head stopped spinning and she started following his words a little more clearly, panic struck. The world could end in the next four days, and it was in the hands of a crazy man with a screwdriver.

They were doomed.

Melaina couldn't move. There was ground beneath her, but she couldn't feel it; she wasn't even aware of her feet against the cement.

At her side, the Doctor stood rigid, his hands burrowed deeply into his pockets, his lips pressed tightly together.

In front of them stood a Martian.

It wasn't like what she'd expected; but then again, she'd never seen an alien...until the doctor. She didn't know what she'd been expecting.

The creature was only about four feet tall; the skin falling loosely off of the roundish body was a pasty pink color. There were no feelers, no antenna, no extra eyes. Just a small, rather piggish looking creature. She would have almost called it cute, except for the eyes. Even though two eyes were far fewer than she had expected, there was nothing human about those eyes. They protruded from the creatures head on cone-like extensions, and the they were colored violently blood red.

The Doctor started speaking. Slowly, quietly, while reaching a hand out, palm open. It was an odd, guttural language, but the way the Doctor spoke it was beautiful and obviously deeply full of meaning.

When he finished, the Martian stared at him in stony silence. Melaina's heart sank. Then, the Martian started speaking loudly, waving its arms furiously at the Doctor, and then at Melaina. The Doctor didn't move the whole time it spoke, but only replied gently when the rant was over.

The conversation continued in this way for about five minutes, the Doctor's voice rising in anger as time passed. Melaina noticed that his knuckles were white as he clenched one hand in a fist at his side.

She didn't dare interrupt to ask what was going on; she almost felt she didn't need to. The conversation seemed pretty obvious. Each was defending their position. Each was accusing the other of something. The Doctor occasionally pointed at the sky or gestured towards Melaina, and she couldn't help but feel that he was doing it to help her understand what was going on. The Martians were to go back where they came from and leave the human race alone.

The Doctor got in the last word; a long stream of guttural words in which he repeatedly slapped himself on the chest, pointed at himself with his thumbs, and stepped towards his opponent.

There was a long pause, in which both the Doctor and the Martian glared intensely at each other. Then the Martian reached into his belt and pulled out a long metal cylinder with narrow openings in both ends. It held the object out horizontally towards the Doctor, balanced it for a moment, and uttered a sharp, loud word.

A fiery ball exploded from the end of what Melaina now clearly recognized as a weapon. She sucked in her breath and hurried forward towards the Doctor, who seemed unmoved by the shot. He held up his hand behind him, stopping her.

His voice never faltered as he shouted to the Martian. His voice was full of authority and magnificence, and even Melaina was shaken, although she knew the words were not for her.

The Martian's eyes widened and it quickly stowed its weapon away. With a shock of electricity and a green light, it vanished.

The Doctor moaned and doubled over, wrapping his hand around to his left side. Melaina clapped her hand over her mouth as he pulled his hand away, wet and glistening with blood.


	3. Chapter 3

Slowly, the Doctor caught his breath and stood upright again.

"You're hurt!" Melaina gasped, moving his hand away from the wound so she could get a better look.

"That Martian wouldn't have listened to me. Martians...they've somehow got it in their heads that wounded is the same thing as dead. If you're bleeding, you can't think anymore. No reason to listen to a dead thing, right?" he winced as the girl pulled his jacket away. "Voice activated firing. That's one I haven't seen before."

"Will you be alright?" Melaina asked nervously.

"Course I will." the Doctor said cheerfully. His face was drawn with pain.

"Why don't you sit down for a bit and I'll wrap it up for you." she said, trying to sound calm.

He nodded, and she helped him sit on the ground. Kneeling in front of him, she took off her scar and wrapped it around his rib cage; tightening it over his shirt and under his jacket. He grimaced and held tightly to her arm as she tugged it firmly into place.

"You'll be alright then?"

"No regenerative energy. I'm alright." he said, peering closely at his hands.

She decided not to ask him what that meant.

"I haven't had a good flesh wound since...oh..." he thought hard. "It must have been the Holocaust. Got caught in some cross fire towards the end."

He frowned. "We can't stay here. From what that soldier said, the Martians have a nasty plan for Earth; and they won't be the only ones to land, now that the gate's broken."

"Why, what are they planning?" Melaina asked anxiously.

"The usual. Take over the planet and use the human race as slaves. Humans as slaves to the Martians. That's particularly not good. And-as I'm sure you noticed from our conversation-this race isn't known for producing gentle personalities." he gritted his teeth as he rearranged his jacket back over his wound.

"But that's just one race! And they want the whole planet! What about the rest of the races that you said would come through?"

"Don't panic, Melaina. We're going to fix the gate!" he smiled reassuringly.

"Yeah, but how?"

He ignored her question and stood up.

"We need to find where the gap is. The Martian gave me a bit of a hint; and if the readings from the sonic are any indication, I'd say we've got our heading."

Their progress was painfully slow. The Doctor moved with much less speed and vigor than before. The blood had soaked through Melaina's scarf, and was seeping through his jacket. She pleaded with him to rest, but he only shook his head and pressed his hands tighter against his side, plodding on determinedly.

"So where are we headed?"

"Dunno. This way." he indicated with his head.

He seemed to be happy with the signals that he was getting from his sonic device; ultimately those signals kept leading them in the same direction. He finally was confident enough of a direction for them to board a bus.

After six hours, Melaina and the Doctor stepped off of the bus into the gloom of an abandoned town. No one else was left to get off the bus, so Melaina payed the driver, and they stood and watched the back of the bus disappear in a whirl of dust.

"Where are we?" Melaina wondered, turning her back on the bus and looking around.

"Nortalitzer." The Doctor replied. "This is where the signal led."

He cried and bent his body around his bloody side.

"Are you alright?" she wrapped her arm around him and helped him stand upright.

"I'm a bit worse for wear, I'm afraid." he smiled bravely at her.

They found a room in the nearest hotel room, and a few flicks of the Doctor's screwdriver got the lights working.

"What can I do for you?" she asked as soon as the door was closed.

"You don't have to do anything. I'll just fix myself up a bit, and you get some rest." he caught the hurt look on her face. "Thank you. Thank you so much, but I need to do this alone." he said gently.

Reluctantly, she left the room and found her way to a toilet down the hall. She stared at her reflection in the mirror for a long while, contemplating what she saw. Her face was exhausted and dirty, and she had streaks of the Doctor's blood on her face from where she'd rubbed it. This was not the face she'd left her home with this morning. The exhaustion and filth wasn't all that was new to her face though. There was an exhilaration and wonder that had never been in her eyes before she met the Doctor.

She washed her face and hands and used the contents of her purse to tidy up her face and hair. The water felt good on her hands and neck, so good that she stuck her whole head in the sink and washed her hair. Then she filled a bucket near the sink with warm water and lugged it back to the room, sloshing some of it over her purple trainers.

At the door, she hesitated, then knocked softly.

"Just a moment!" the Doctor called.

Melaina set the bucket down and went back to the bathroom, where she found a stack of clean cloths on a shelf. She grabbed a handful of them. She wandered down to the opposite end of the hall and found a kitchenette. She stuffed the rags in her pocket and filled two glasses with water, then headed back to the bedroom again.

The Doctor had opened the door when she got back down to the end of the hall, and he was sitting on one of the two beds. Next to him was a bloody needle and a neat little sewing kit. Where he'd gotten it, she had no idea.

She picked up the bucket of water and knelt next to him with it.

"So you're all stitched up, yeah?"

He nodded and smiled. " All patched up."

"Well, I got some water and rags for you...if you want to clean yourself up a little bit."

"That's just the thing. Thanks." he gratefully gulped the water she handed him, then picked up one of the cloths and stuck it in the bucket. He started pulling up the bottom of his dress shirt and t shirt, then paused and looked up at her.

"You should get to bed." he indicated towards the far bed with his eyebrow. "You need some rest."

She was about to argue, but the look on his face clearly said that he wanted to be left alone.

"Right. See you in the morning."

She crawled under the sheets and turned her face to the wall. She tried to sleep, but she couldn't block out the Doctor's soft moans as he tended to his fresh stitches. After a few minutes, he switched out the lights, and she heard him climb into bed. She strained her ears for any other signs that he was hurting, but he was silent. She dozed off.

She woke with a start as the morning light hit her face, momentarily disoriented. After she'd remembered where she was, she slowly sat up and remade the bed she'd slept in, then went to wake the Doctor.

"Good morning." he said, a little groggily.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright, actually. How are you?"

"Ready to not die at the hands of the Martians...today's the last day we have left. What are we going to do?"

The Doctor frowned and ruffled his hair. "Not sure. The signal only gets weaker from here...no matter what direction we go. It should be here. Maybe some sort of refuge, or hideout, something."

Melaina nodded. "What would it look like?"

"It really wouldn't look a specific way...it could be anything from a cave to a bedroom." he stopped.

"Melaina, where did you get the clean rags and the glasses?"

"They were in the kitchen and the bathroom."

"Clean and nice and easy to find? In an abandoned hotel?" he smacked himself in the forehead. "Why didn't I catch it before?"

"Yeah. What's going on?"

The Doctor took her hand and put his fingers to his lips. "Shh."

She mouthed her question again.

"I think we've just spent the night in the Martian trap." he whispered.

He laid his finger on his lips again, and then pointed to the door. She got the idea, and on tiptoe, she let the Doctor lead her to the hallway.

They got to the main entrance without incident. The Doctor carefully turned the doorknob, but it didn't budge. They were locked in.

Melaina clapped her hands over her mouth. The Doctor started working at it with his sonic screwdriver, but it wouldn't budge.

A menacing voice shouted at them from behind. The Doctor quickly turned and put his hands out in front of him, speaking a quick string of pleas, but a moment later he placed his hands on his head in a surrendering pose, and indicated that Melaina should do the same.

"On a scale of one to ten, how bad is this?" she whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

"Seven? Eight?" he fixed his eyes on the Martian. "Somewhere between we could be dead any minute, and the universe might explode in the next twenty four hours."

She nodded. "Great."

The Martian grunted and gestured with one of his awkward stubbly limbs. The Doctor took Melaina's hand as they started following the Martian down the hallway.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." the Doctor muttered in Melaina's direction.

She pursed her lips and dug the fingernails of her free hand into her palm, trying to keep her other hand from shaking in the Doctor's. He sensed her terror and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

The Martian walked them to the end of the hall. It made a sharp turn to the right and opened a door. There was absolute blackness behind the door, but it walked in without hesitation.

"They've got no concept of light and dark. It's all the same to them." The Doctor whispered as they groped after him.

"What's in here?" she breathed.

"I don't know. Whatever it is, I promise I won't let anything happen to you."

She held tighter to his hand and closed her eyes. It didn't make any difference; she couldn't see either way.

There didn't seem to be anything that they could trip over; they seemed to be in some sort of tunnel or something.

"We're heading underground." the Doctor told her quietly. "Can you tell?"

She nodded, even though he couldn't see her.

They finally were stopped by the creature. It tried to get them to do something; it seemed like it wanted them to sit down. It seemed confused by their lack of coordination and cooperation, and Melaina felt the panic rising in her throat again. The Doctor said a few hasty words though, and the creature grunted and started pushing them in front of it.

Melaina shuffled her feet until her shins pounded into the edge of a metal seat. She bit her tongue and turned around, groping with her fingertips to find exactly where the seat was. When she'd sat down, the Martian roughly grabbed her wrists and secured them into something cold and smooth on the arms of the chair.

"It's alright, Melaina. Just keep still." The Doctor's voice came to her through the darkness and the clank of metal told her that he had also been chained to a chair.

The Martian grunted at the Doctor.

"Alright! Sorry. Shutting up now." he said irritably.

The Martian started venting his annoying voice again, and the Doctor countered him in a questioning tone. The Martian gave a reluctant grunt, and the Doctor's voice came through the darkness again, this time in English.

"Melaina, Fetten here has agreed to let me translate so that you know what's going on."

Melaina leaned forward and listened intently. Through the jumbled syllables of the Martian language, she clung to the occasional English phrases that would come her way.

"We are to witness the end of human independence."

The Doctor paused as the Martian's voice rang out again.

"The two of us have walked into the Martian's brilliantly established trap."

"After today, the Martians will reign supreme in all the universe."

"...and he's just going on about how the world will end...Oh! He says we will rain curses on the day we stepped foot in the...oh dear, the translation's a bit rocky here...ah! Stepped foot in the East Wing Church. Interesting. Seems to think that church means fortress or some such thing."

Melaina's blood had run cold.

East Wing Church.

The memory of Martha Jones' words flooded into her head:

_Keep him away from the East Wing Church at all costs...don't let him go...it will be horrible._

"Oh no." she whispered.

The Doctor misunderstood her. "Don't worry, we're getting out of this."

Melaina swallowed hard. The phrase _it will be horrible_ rang through her mind, beating against any other thought. _It will be horrible._

"Interesting." The Doctor's voice broke through to her. "He doesn't want information from us. I'm going to ask him why he's holding us at all."

The Doctor switched over to the other language. What followed was a horrid squeal from the piggish creature. Suddenly, with a patter of footsteps, the two of them were alone.

"That can't be good." the Doctor mused. "Anyway, you alright?"

"I'm sorry! This wasn't supposed to happen!" Melaina wailed.

"Melaina, calm down! It's alright, love. Not your fault at all." he grunted. "More my fault than anything for letting you come with me. I just put you in danger."

"No, no, it _is _my fault. I was specifically told to keep you away from the East Wing Church!"

"Really?" his voice rose. "Why?"

"I don't know." hot tears ran down her face. "I just was supposed to."

"Did I tell you that?"

She was about to say no before she remembered that he wasn't supposed to know about Martha.

"Yeah!"

"What happens if we go here?"

"Nothing specific. Just something...horrible."


	4. Chapter 4

The Doctor was silent as Melaina's voice echoed through the room.

"What are we going to do?" she whimpered, waiting for him to take in what she'd just told him.

"Well, for one..." The Doctor said slowly. "We're going to stay very calm and think this through. If it's so bad that we're here, I think our best move would be to get out, don't you think?"

"Yeah, but I don't see that happening, do you?" she cried in exasperation.

The light from his sonic screwdriver flashed in answer.

"Ha! Never underestimate the power of a sonic device." he laughed triumphantly.

He was soon standing over her, and the restraints fell away with a few flashes of light. They found each others' hands in the dark again and started moving around.

The bit of light that the screwdriver emitted was enough for them to find their way. The room was fairly small, and the walls were cold, smooth stone. There were two arched doorways, one on either end of the room.

"Which one did we come through?" she asked, confused.

"That one." the Doctor pointed with the blue light. "I'd say our best bet is to get out of the other one."

"Are you sure?"

"Course not. We've got to try though, yeah? Come on."

The door spit them out into a roughly hewed tunnel that was just as dark as the rest of the church.

"Well this is...dark." the Doctor said.

Melaina leaned her head on his shoulder in exasperation.

"Ow! Careful." he yelped, shifting his wounded side out of her reach.

"Oh, oh, sorry!" she reached out in the dark apologetically. "How are you doing?"

"Don't worry about me. We need to get out of here right now. We've only got minutes before they come for us."

Unlike the last tunnel and the prison room, the floor of this tunnel was uneven and rough. Melaina kept stumbling and tripping, and her ankles and feet got cut up by sharp edges on the rocks.

She worked as hard as she could though, because the Doctor was really having a hard time. Every time he staggered, he'd cry out and then pretend like nothing was wrong. She slipped her arm around him on his right side and tried to help him a little, but there wasn't much she could do. She finally let go, because her faltering steps were jolting him, only making his pain worse.

The seconds dragged on and it started to feel like they were going to stumble on forever in the freezing darkness.

There were no signs of pursuit, and the Doctor was barely able to stand anymore. Melaina felt around and found a small cavity in the wall and had him sit inside it. She sank to the ground next to him and laid her head on his lap.

"I'm so sorry." she sobbed quietly.

"Not your fault. There was no way for you to know it was the church." he sighed.

He put his hand on her shoulder, and they just sat there. There was nothing else to be done.

Suddenly, a flash of light blinded Melaina. Everything was white, and she didn't remember anything else.

The first thing Melaina was aware of was the pounding in her head. She blearily opened her eyes and saw green. Lots of green. Her hair fell in her face when she sat up. Pushing it behind her ears, she tried to make her eyes focus on her surroundings.

A forest. She was warm and comfortable; she was sprawled out on a smooth, sun-warmed rock. She rubbed her eyes hard, trying to remember what had happened, but all that she could bring to mind was the white light that had flashed.

What had happened to the Doctor? She looked around frantically. A moment later, she realized that he was only a few feet away, lying face down on the rock. She called him quietly a few times, but he didn't move; she called louder.

She rolled him over, looking to see if he was bleeding anymore. He didn't seem to be, but she wouldn't know until she took a better look. She was hesitant to really directly examine the wound because of the Doctor's obvious modesty. She almost felt guilty as she pulled his shirt away from his skin; but it needed to be done.

She gasped and pulled the shirt up further, taking in every inch of the skin on his left side. It was smooth and unblemished, no sign of his wound at all. Almost panicked, she shook him awake.

"What?" he sat up with a jolt.

"Doctor, your side."

"What about it?" he ran his fingers over his side gingerly, then more searchingly.

"Well. That's a welcome change." he breathed.

"What happened?" she wondered.

"Well...flashing lights, teleportation, and micro-bot healing...I'd say we've had a visit from Captain Jack Harkness!" he laughed gleefully.

"Who?"

"Oh never mind. He's wonderful. The question is, where's he dropped us?"

He stood up and looked around, shading his eyes with his hand.

"Oh! Of course! This is just the park. Should only take us ten minutes to get back."

"Get back where? To the church?"

"Of course not. Why would you think that? I mean I'm taking you home."

"You can't do that!"

"I have to. We almost got killed. I don't even know you, Melaina, but I know that you're someone that doesn't deserve to get put in danger like that. I don't want to see you get hurt."

She was silent.

"You must have someone at home who will miss you. We need to get you home to them."

She looked at her hands.

"I'm right, aren't I?" he pressed.

"My brother Eddie." she whispered. She perked up suddenly.

"Wait! You're a Doctor! Maybe you can help him! He's been sick since the sky started turning colors."

He looked at her questioningly. "Why, what's the matter with him?"

She started tugging on his arm. "Can you come see him?"

"Yes. Course I will." he said distractedly. "But then I have to go. And you can't come with me. Understand?"

"Yes. Just please come see him."

Eddie tackled his sister in a hug as soon as she opened the door. His seven year old freckled face shone with tears.

"Where were you?" he sobbed. "You scared me...you were just gone."

She scooped him up in her arms and squeezed him tight.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! It's alright. And I've brought somebody with me. He's going to try to make you better."

Eddie peered over Melaina's shoulder at the Doctor.

"I like him." he said softly.

"Hello there, Eddie." the Doctor said cheerfully. "What seems to be the problem?"

"He's been just randomly losing consciousness, and when he does he'll sweat and cry, and he'll just be really weak for the next few days. He's seen the pediatricians, and all his levels are normal," she tenderly wiped his hair off of his forehead. "No one can figure out. They just gave him some random vitamins and pro-biotics and steroids. But they're not doing anything for him."

She set the boy down on the couch and the Doctor knelt in front of him, pulling out his sonic screwdriver and scanning the boy up and down.

"Melaina, stay calm." he said quietly.

"What is it?" she breathed.

"He has traces of the Martian particles. I'm not sure how deep it goes."

"What does that mean for him? Have they been here?"

The Doctor spun around the room, waving the screwdriver.

"They've definitely been here." he mused. He turned back to the boy and took his head gently in in his hands, then closed his eyes.

"Cowboys. Lots of cowboys in here. I'm so, so sorry sport." he opened his eyes and looked sadly at Eddie.

"Cowboys?" Melaina faltered.

"The Martians have been in his mind."

She felt like she might burst. "In his_ mind_? What did they do?"

"It looks like they were running tests. I don't think they messed with anything. They were just observing. Knocked him out to keep his subconscious from getting in the way."

"But he gets upset and cries in his sleep! They can't just be testing him if they're making him cry." she wiped a tear away before Eddie saw.

"I don't know. Maybe he can see them?" the Doctor mused.

The Doctor turned his attention back to Eddie. "Eddie, do you have dreams when you get sick?"

Eddie nodded, his eyes widening.

"What do you dream about?

"Monsters." the boy's voice trembled.

"What do the monsters look like?"

"Pigs."

The Doctor nodded. "He's seen them. Honestly, Melaina, they haven't done anything but run tests."

"Tests for what? And how do we get them to leave him alone?"

"I don't know. I really don't know. I'm going to find out though."

She pulled a juice box out of the fridge and handed it to her brother.

"I'll make some tea."

"That sounds lovely." he said distractedly, bending down and examining the door. "What kind of locks do you have? I mean, on the doors?"

She set the pot on the stove and crossed her arms. "I thought you had to leave."

"I was leaving to keep you safe. It's too late for that. Now I need to keep you safe by staying."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Don't look at me like that." he said without turning away from the door.

"How'd you know...do you have eyes on the back of your head? Do Time Lords have eyes on the back of their heads?" she peered at his brown hair.

"No. I just know the look." He straightened up and walked to her, putting his hands on her shoulders. "I'm not human. I don't work like a normal man does. I don't think like a normal man does. I've been alive for over nine hundred years."

She couldn't do anything but stare open mouthed at him. He sighed.

"Look, Melaina. I'm just saying. You can't...expect anything from me. I don't want you to be disappointed."

She tried to get some words out, but was interrupted by the thud of Eddie's body hitting the floor.

"Eddie!" she screamed.


	5. Chapter 5

The Doctor scooped the boy up and laid him gently on the couch, then bent over him with his hands on the boy's temples.

"Oh no you don't." he whispered.

Eddie cried softly, and Melaina rushed forward to take his hand.

"Stay back!" the Doctor snapped.

She sank onto the floor and covered her mouth, watching in horror as the Doctor tried to help her brother.

The Doctor was muttering in Martian under his breath, straining against the fight that the aliens were putting up in the boy's mind. Every once and a while Eddie would call out, but for the most part he laid frighteningly still and quiet.

A half hour passed, and there was no change. The Doctor was still arguing with the Martian in Eddie's head, sweat beaded on his forehead. Finally, with a pained cry, the Doctor let go of Eddies' temples and fell away from the couch.

Melaina flew to Eddie and gently took his face in her hands, whispering his name.

Eddie opened his eyes, but didn't seem to hear Melaina's words. He was staring at the Doctor.

"Who are you?" he whispered.

The Doctor raised his head.

"You...you got angry with the monsters, and they..." he blinked and trailed off. "They blew up. Just because you were talking, they blew up."

Melaina swallowed hard, not turning to face the Doctor.

"It's alright now, Eddie." the Doctor said wearily. "They aren't going to ever come back and bother you again."

Eddie clung to Melaina's neck and buried his head in her shoulder.

"How about that tea, Melaina?" the Doctor said, his voice tired and dry.

"Oh, right." Melaina set Eddie down and hurried into the kitchen.

Eddie fell asleep peacefully while the Doctor and Melaina had tea.

"What did you find out?" she whispered, refilling his cup.

"They need me for something. I don't know what, but I'm an essential part of the plan."

"Does that even make sense?"

"I'm the last of my kind, and being able to travel in time definitely has its advantages. There's quite a list of things that they could need me for."

Melaina nodded and stirred her tea. "They won't come back and bother him ever again. I can guarantee you that."

"I don't know how to thank you. I thought..." she glanced briefly at the little boy. "Could they have killed him?"

"Don't think about that. They're gone now."

Silence fell. Melaina was dying to ask the question at the tip of her tongue, but she was terrified of what the answer would be.

"Well..." the Doctor began.

"Are you still going to leave me behind?" she blurted.

His eyes told her the answer.

"You can't!" she shouted.. "Not after everything that's happened."

"Melaina, I told you I'm not a normal person. I can't give you anything."

"I don't want anything from you! I'm worried about you. I'm not even sure you're alright from the Martian shooting you."

"How did you know?" he almost smiled.

"I'm not daft or blind. Plus, I've got a bit of a mum's instinct." she said, wiping angry tears away.

"Alright, you're right. I'm sorry. It does still feel wrong." he admitted, rubbing his side a little.

She softened a little. "What can I do for you?"

He sighed. "It still looks alright on the surface. Nothing we really can do."

She frowned and shook her head. "Okay. Take it easy though. Don't strain yourself."

He smiled, and she slowly returned the smile. "I know, I know. Fat chance of you taking it easy."

He pointed. "Right you are, Melaina Grey."

"I'm going to put Eddie to bed and call the sitter." she said. "And then I'm coming with you."

He opened his mouth, then closed it again.

"You know, future me doesn't seem to be daft at all. He sent me you." he said quietly. "You're going to give up about as soon as I am; which of course, is never."

She nodded and used a tissue to wipe away the mascara that had run off her lashes.

Two hours later, they were driving through Cardiff in her car.

"So, where are we going?" she wondered.

He didn't reply, and she quickly caught his meaning. Unable to think of anything to say, she focused on the road.

"There's nowhere else we can go." he told her apologetically. "We have to go back."

"I know." she admitted.

"We'll be alright. We're prepared now."

The car hit a particularly rough pothole in the road, and the Doctor grimaced.

"You're just saying that to make me feel better, aren't you?" she said, staring ahead of her.

She could feel him looking at her.

"I'm so sorry."

The church had none of the friendly appeal that it had when they had stood before it only 24 hours earlier, but nothing about its appearance had changed. Melaina sat rigid in the car, with her fingers rigidly balanced on the keys. The engine puttered patiently, waiting for her to turn it off and face the eminent danger.

The Doctor was beside her, his eyes tightly closed, his sonic screwdriver pressed against his forehead in deep thought. They'd been sitting like this for nearly half an hour.

"Let's go." he finally said, his voice drained of any emotion.

She turned off the engine, undid her safety belt, and opened her door. They circled around until they both stood in front of the car.

"What are you going to do?" she asked.

In response, he began walking towards the front door.

The second they stepped inside, they were surrounded by a dozen Martian soldiers, all armed with the same alien weapons that the first soldier had shot the Doctor with.

The scene was made even more terrifying when each and every one of the aliens started shouting at them in their horrible language. The Doctor stepped in front of Melaina, his arms spread slightly to block her from their view. They stayed this way until the shouting stopped, and the two prisoners were dragged to the same room they had been held in before.

It was the same room, but it looked very different now. Instead of the two lone restraining chairs, the room was full of advanced scientific equipment, all humming and whirring and beeping. Melaina and the Doctor were ripped apart. Melaina was put in a restrictive beam in the corner of the room, while the Doctor was chained to a table in the middle of the room, flat on his back.

Melaina was hoping for the soldiers to leave the room so that she could have a moment to ask the Doctor what was happening, but the Martians had learned from the last escape, and had positioned a dozen guards throughout the room. All she got from the Doctor was a brief wink.

It was only a few moments before another swarm of the aliens came into the room. They gathered around the Doctor, mumbling to each other. Then they started their work hooking the Time Lord up to a a mess of tubes, monitors, and wires. Melaina stood on tiptoe to see what was going on. They'd removed the Doctor's dress shirt and jacket, leaving him shivering in his burgundy t shirt. She caught brief glimpses of his face through the chaos, grimacing and wincing as needles and tubes were stuck under his skin. When they finished poking and prodding him, they started scanning him with an array of glowing, flashing paddles and wands.

The clamor finally stopped, and the room was cleared out except for the guards.

"Well, this is exciting." the Doctor commented, moving his eyes to inspect his pin cushioned body.

"Are you alright?"

"Oh, yes. A bit bruised and stuck, maybe, but just fine."

"Are they injecting you with anything?"

"A little bit of hydration, but the rest of it is just taking samples. Taking, not giving. See why you don't want them on your planet?"

"You don't have to convince me. So how do we get out of this one?"

"At the moment, we don't. Not sure what's going on yet, I think we should stick around and find out, don't you?"

"Like you could get out anyway."

"Shh! We don't know how much English they can understand."

The Martians had understood, apparently. They muttered to each other, then one of them brandished a large need and stuck it in the Doctor's arm.

"What are you doing?" Melaina shouted.

The Doctor's eyes rolled back, and his head fell limply to the left.

The Martian spoke in English for the first time, but Melaina soon wished she had never heard it. He said two simple words.

"No escape."

"No!" Melaina screamed. "No, Doctor!"

The martians placed their slimy paws over there snouts in an imitation of a shushing motion, brandished the needle again, and Melaina saw darkness.

When Melaina woke, she was sitting in the same dark tunnel that she and the doctor had escaped through a couple days earlier. Her head was swirling and foggy, but she was attentive enough to realize that she was handcuffed...and alone.

"Doctor?" she whispered groggily. "Hello, are you in here?"

She pushed herself up on the wall ad squinted in the darkness.

"Doctor!" she whispered, a little louder.

She slowly took a step forward, feeling the ground ahead of her with one foot while balancing on the other. She stumbled on this way for a few minutes before she remembered that she had a digital watch on, with a back light. She pressed down the button, but the dim green light did very little good, so she let go of it and spread her hands out to feel around and balance herself.

She stopped to rest after a couple of hours, painfully aware of how thirsty she was. Her shins and toes were aching from bumping into the stones that her reach had failed to recognize.

She sank to the ground, wrapping her arms around her knees and leaning her head on the wall behind her, finally dozing off.


	6. Chapter 6

"Lady, wake up!" a man's voice echoed. "Sweetie."

A hand on her shoulder jolted her into consciousness, and instinctively she lashed out.

"Woah, easy." a big hand gently caught her wrist, and her eyes tried to focus in the darkness.

"Hey, hey. There she is." The shadow loomed above her, big and dark. "Are you alright?"

She tried to squirm away, terrified.

"No, sweetie. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm here to help. Are you alright?"

She was silent for a moment, wiggling her toes and fingers. "Yeah, I think so. Who are you?"

"Captain Jack Harknes. And who are you?"

"Melaina."

"Nice to meet you Melaina. How'd you end up in that tunnel?"

She sat bolt upright, grabbing his arm.

"The Doctor. We have to save him."

"I figured it was you. We sorta met...you were unconscious."

"You're that Jack!"

"Yeah. That Jack. Where's the Doctor?"

"The Martians have him. They're testing him."

Jack helped her to her feet.

"Let's get him, then."

"How?"

"I'm no earth idiot...well, I am depending on who you ask. But I do know my way around some alien tech." he sighed. "Do you think you can find your way back to the Doctor?"

"Yeah. I think so. It's so dark."

"Here." a light flashed in her face, and Jack held out a flashlight to her.

She looked at his face in the light. He was incredibly handsome and had a kind look about him. She still didn't trust him; not completely. She focused on her priority, however. This guy was going to help her rescue the Doctor. She didn't have to be associated with him beyond that.

"You must be freezing." he said gently. The warm, man-smelling jacket fell over her shoulders, and his big hands patted her shoulders reassuringly.

"Let's go."

The Doctor stared blankly at the ceiling. The room was pitch black, except for the faint green glow coming from the table he was connected to. His eyes had adjusted a little bit, and he had been reading the Martian symbols in the rock ceiling for the past hour; since he'd regained consciousness. It was helping him keep his mind off of the uncomfortable sensation in his throat and chest; the Martian's tests were sucking him dry. His injured side was increasingly painful as his body went into overdrive to compensate for the fluids and tissue samples being stolen. The Doctor sighed, grateful for what Jack had done for him, but wishing desperately that the healing had gone beyond the surface.

The writing on the ceiling concerned and fascinated him at the same time. It was some sort of Martian chant. Even with the TARDIS translation, the syntax was rough, but the Doctor understood enough. It was a vow, in the most ancient dialect of the Martians. It was a vow of dominance.

"Naturally." the Doctor muttered to himself. "Is it ever _not _about dominance?"

What concerned him was just how ancient the dialect was. The newer government of the Martians had dictated a more humane, intellectual form of attack; they'd even created forms of treaties and other bargains. The more ancient cults had bee much more bloodthirsty; their forms of torture, as well as their complete inability to listen or cooperate with any other species had made them notoriously horrific.

The Doctor closed his eyes and swallowed a few times, trying to regain the moisture in his mouth while contemplating the odd behavior of these Martians. So far, he'd thought they were dealing with the newer Martians; his treaty-like discussion with the one who'd shot him had bee modern enough, as was the technology that was being used on him at that very moment.

He ran the possibilities through his head. Some cult had united with those of a more modern way of thought; or there was a cult that was combining traditional views with the new ones. Or he was having a nightmare and was going to wake up soon.

"You will watch." a martian voice hissed behind his head.

He opened his eyes and waited silently for it to say more, but it didn't.

"Well, let's go then. What am I watching?"

"What do you think?" it hissed ironically.

"Yeah, guess that was more of a rhetorical question."

They slipped the heavy bonds off of his legs and chest and prodded him into a sitting position.

One of the larger ones, who looked more in charge, grabbed the Doctor roughly by the elbow and pulled him to his feet.

"You will come. You will watch this." it said quietly.

It began pulling him forward.

The Doctor was already lightheaded and fighting to stay on his feet, but the sudden stabbing pain in his side was what sent him to his knees.

"It's this door right here." Melaina pointed. "I'm pretty sure."

Jack nodded and ran his hands over the thick metal panel.

"You need to get out of here." he turned to her.

She laughed.

He grinned a little and shook his head. "Well, it was worth a try. You ladies, never letting the Doctor go. How long have you known him?"

"Two days, give or take."

"Nice."

Jack started pulling various tools and odd pieces of tech out of his pockets and fidgeting with the door.

"So...you're American." she commented. "What are you doing in England?"

"Well," he said, prying a small screwdriver into the doors control panel. "I don't know if you could call me an American anymore. I mean, I definitely was once. But that was in..." he glanced over his shoulder at her. "Let's just say that was a really long time ago. I haven't been home in years."

"So what do you do here?"

"Well, I took a page out of the Doctor's book, in a nutshell. Big extraterrestrial fan."

"I see." Melaina sighed. "Look, can I help?"

"For sure. Hold the light for me, will you?"

"Yeah." she shrugged off his jacket and laid it on the ground, took the flashlight, and shone it at Jack's hands.

"I've almost got it." he lowered his voice. "Let's just hope we haven't gotten their attention yet."

He hesitated and put his hand on her shoulder. "Just be ready for anything."

Melaina nodded and tightened her grip on the flashlight. "At least I have a pretty good idea of what to expect if something goes wrong."

"I'm sorry." he said sadly.

"For what?" she took the screwdriver that he handed her.

"That you and the Doctor have gone through so much with the Martians."

"I'm okay. Really. It's him I'm worried about. You're the one who healed him, right?"

"I tried to. The bots I have left are pretty ancient, so they don't do as thorough a job as they used to. How's he doing?"

"Well, the surface was fine. But I finally got him to admit that it wasn't much better underneath. I hope he hasn't got any internal bleeding or anything."

"I wouldn't worry too much, sweetheart. He wasn't in critical condition when I got to you guys, and the nanogenes did more good than harm."

Jack started rearranging wires inside the panel. "Plus he's not exactly human. He heals faster than you or I would...or you, anyway. I'm a little bit of a different story."

"Yeah? How so?" Melaina wondered.

"Long story for another time." he replied shortly. "Just remind me to tell you; I'm growing forgetful in my old age."

Melaina snorted, but didn't make any more comments. The man couldn't be anywhere above his mid-thirties, if that. She saw a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

The door creaked, and Melaina held her breath.

"It's ok, I got it." whispered Jack.

He reached into his back pocket and handed her a heavy metal object.

"I've never used a gun." she whispered.

"Let's hope you won't have to." he told her under his breath. "Hopefully just pointing it at them will be scary enough...hopefully we won't even get that far."

She nodded and carefully slipped the gun into her belt.

Just like the Doctor had, Jack took her hand and led her into the lair of the Martians.

Melaina couldn't help wondering if her third time in the East Wing Church would be "third time's the charm" or "three strikes and you're out"; and somehow, the situation just didn't seem like it would be very charming.


	7. Chapter 7

"He's just gone!" Melaina moaned.

"Shhh." Jack cautioned.

They were standing in the prison room. It was completely empty.

"But how could he be gone?" Melaina lowered her voice. "What did they do to him?"

"Look, Melaina." Jack grabbed her shoulders. "Standing here, freaking out, is not going to help anything. We need to use our heads and find him."

Melaina nodded.

"Here, I have this." he pulled an odd, smart phone-like device out of his pocket and punched a few buttons.

"What's that?"

"Bio scanner. I've set it to Time Lord. If he's here.." he hesitated and looked at her. "...and he's alive, this will find him."

She held her breath as the scanner beeped slowly.

"Oh, thank goodness. There he is." he pointed the signal out on the screen for her. "It looks like that's on the other end of the building."

He switched the settings on the scanner. "Looks like he's really heavily guarded. There are martians in this hallway here, and in this one, and in the actual prison room. I think we can sneak past them and get to him if we're careful."

"And if we can't?"

Jack looked at her soberly. "I gave you a gun, didn't I?"

Melaina had to cover her mouth with her hand to keep herself from laughing. She never guessed that she would laugh in such a situation, but here she was, barely able to contain her mirth. Jack looked at her quizzically.

"Are you alright?" he whispered.

"Yeah. Fine. Sorry."

It really was comical, the way they had pressed themselves against the wall with their guns to hide from their enemies, just like in the cinema. Melaina could hear the dramatic music throbbing in her head.

_Dadadadum. Da-da-da-di-di-dum. Dum. Dum. Dum._

She closed her eyes and breathed. Don't lose it.

"We need to go now. It looks like they're changing shifts." Jack pressed the weight of his hand down on her shoulder. "Keep close behind me; as completely as you can."

She nodded, focusing her mind on the only thing she cared about at that moment: the Doctor's safety.

Rounding the corner, she saw two Martian guards talking and sharing a drink. She sighed; was reality just like the movies?

However, the Martians didn't seem very bright. Jack was able to creep up behind them and bash their heads together before they even knew that they were being watched.

"Not dead. The Doctor doesn't like killing." Jack reassured Melaina, seeing the look on her face.

"Are they going to go by the Doctor's rules?" Melaina asked, jerking her head at something behind Jack.

Jack caught her look and his face fell.

"It's never easy, is it?" he moaned. "I have to die."

"Jack!" she screamed.

But he had already flung himself at the ten Martian guards, shooting a volley of blasts at them as he waded among the pig-like faces. They all died.

But so did Jack.

Melaina fell to her knees at his side, ignoring the approaching footsteps of more guards. This wasn't supposed to be going so bad. They were supposed to rescue the Doctor. Sobbing, she controlled the shaking in her fingers long enough to check for a pulse on Jack's neck. There wasn't one.

Jack's hand fell to his side, his gun clattering to the ground. The sound shook Melaina back into action. She snatched up the gun, and reached across his broad chest to pull the bio scanner out of his still fingers.

"I'm sorry. I'll try to come back for you." she whispered.

She scrambled to her feet and took off down the hall, away from the marching, thudding footsteps. The Doctor's door was at the end of the hall. She slammed in to it, panting as she examined the door. There was no knob or lock or latch, only the smooth, cool, metal surface.

She bit her lip and ran her hands across it, hoping that her touch would activate some advance technology.

"Doctor." she called softly, putting her mouth as close to the door as possible. "Can you hear me?"

"Melaina?" came back.

"Yeah, it's me."

He groaned in admiration. "You're brilliant, you are. Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Are you?"

"Will be as soon as I get out of here."

"That's the trouble. There's no way in!"

"Melaina, is there any sort of chest or box in the hallway?"

Melaina set Jack's gun and the bio scanner down and trotted quickly up and down the short hallway.

"Yeah." she picked up the small metal box and carried it back to the door.

"Can you open it?"

It had a simple latch, and she snapped it open. Inside was the Doctor's pen-torch-thing.

"Your...thing...is here!"

"The sonic?"

"I guess. Yeah!"

"Ok. Set it to seven...see the numbered screen?..and press the button and hold it up to the door where the handle should be."

Melaina fumbled with the device, but managed to get the setting right. When she held it up and pressed down the button, the door made a funny clicking noise and shuddered.

"Quick, push it open before it re-latches!" the Doctor urged.

But it was too late. Melaina had to unlock the door and throw herself against it three times before she was fast enough. She fell into the cell, screwdriver in hand and hair tangling over her face.

"Quick, hold the door open and pull your things inside. Then let the door close." the Doctor's voice came from the darkness.

Melaina did as she was told. She crouched in the silence for the longest bit of her life, hugging Jack's gun, the sonic screwdriver, and the bio scanner to her as the feet of at least twenty Martian soldiers stormed past in fast pursuit.

"Just be still." the Doctor whispered so quietly that she almost didn't catch his words.

Finally, the footsteps faded away completely. Melaina got slowly to her feet, stretching her arms in front of her and stepping slowly around.

"What's the plan now?"

"We'll just camp out here for a bit longer." he decided.

"Where are you?" she whispered.

"Over here." he breathed back. "Follow my voice."

He kept calling her softly until she bumped against him.

"Are you alright?" she whispered, trying to see with her hands.

"Of course. Do you still have the sonic?"

She nodded and ran her finger along the device until she found the button. As the blue light filled the room, she focused in on the Doctor. He was sitting on the floor, tangled in his arms and legs and a mess of some sort of electrical fiber bonds, like the ones he had been confined by in the other room. His eyes squinted against the light, sparkling gently above the dark bruises under his eyes.

"What did they do to you?" she gasped, holding the light closer to his face.

He was pale, and his lips were blue as if he was cold or not getting enough air.

"I'm alright." he said, closing his eyes and smiling weakly. She shook her head and ran her hand across his torso. He didn't resist as she checked him for injuries.

His side was wet with blood.

"You're bleeding again!"

"It's fine, Melaina. Honestly." he shifted uncomfortably. "How'd you get here? What happened to you?"

"I suppose they just set me free." she got closer to examine the bleeding. He weakly brushed her away, so she sat back and drew her knees to her chest. "Jack found me. Freaked me out at first, but he was brilliant. I wouldn't have gotten out of the tunnel without him."

"Oh, Jack! Brilliant. Where is he?"

Melaina set her face on her knees, expecting the tears to come again. Instead, she just felt cold and empty. She'd never seen anyone die before, and it was starting to hit her; hard. She swallowed back the bitter taste in her mouth and talked into her jeans, tasting dust and jean material as her tongue shaped the words.

"He's dead."

The Doctor was about to say something when there was a loud rattling at the door.

"Don't scream." The Doctor cautioned her quietly. "Go to the door and unlock it with the screwdriver."

"You're nuts." she bit back.

"Melaina, do you trust me?"

"I don't know! Maybe not in this state!"

His voice picked up a tone of urgency. "Go. Hurry."

Melaina didn't know what else to do. She ran to the door and unlocked it, then jumped out of the way as Jack fell in the door.

"You might want to catch her." The Doctor told Jack.

Jack nodded and turned to Melaina, her eyes huge. She raised a pointing finger at him, then swayed and fell into the Captain's waiting arms.


	8. Chapter 8

"Maybe I should just start warning the ladies about this when I meet them." Jack's voice was saying as Melaina drifted back into consciousness.

"Like you always meet women when they're on the run from Martians." The Doctor's voice came, followed by a sharp gasp as the room lit up with a blue glow.

"Sorry, Doctor. I'm not the magician with the screwdriver that you are."

"Well, the trick _is_ to loosen the bonds, not to tighten them." The Doctor grunted.

"Actually..." Jack's voice said mischievously. "You'd be surprised with some of the ways I've met women. There was this one time..."

"Don't. Just don't." the Doctor's voice smiled a bit.

"Don't what?" Melaina said, stumbling towards them.

"You're up!" Jack's voice said.

"What..." she groped for the words. She was still coming to, and was asking as many questions as she could before the terror and confusion took over again. "...are you?"

Jack lit the room with the sonic screwdriver and reached for her hand. She drew back.

"See, it's always like this." Jack said to the Doctor. "Have to gain their trust. Twice."

The Doctor looked up and Melaina and smiled a little. He was still sitting on the floor, but his bonds were undone and laying in a heap around him.

"Let me, Jack." he said. "See, Melaina, a friend of mine used the power of my ship once and made Jack...unable to die. Immortal, I guess."

"But I saw him die!" she squeaked.

"I know, I know. It only lasts a few minutes, but I come right back." Jack said, attempting a reassuring tone.

Melaina shook her head. "Right. I'll freak out more later."

"Good girl." Jack grinned.

"What's the plan?" she asked.

"Well, Martians have a problem with light, remember?"

"Yeah...all the hallways were really dimly lit." Melaina observed.

"Right. There's a ventilation shaft..."

"Isn't there always?" Melaina laughed.

The Doctor looked dumbstruck. "I suppose there is."

"Anyway, go on."

"If Jack can get through the shaft, it should lead to a control room."

"Of course. It has to be me." Jack sighed in mock exasperation.

The Doctor just shook his head. "May I finish?"

Jack coughed, embarrassed. "Sorry."

"Once you get to the control room, there should be a panel for the lights. Just dial it up as much as you can. This should disorient them long enough for us to get out without too much trouble."

"Why haven't they figured out that Jack and I are in here yet?"

"That's a good question." The Doctor massaged his ear lobe between his fingers.

"Who cares? Let's just take the luck we've got!" Jack exclaimed.

"No, I don't think so." The Doctor mused. "They are experts at prisoners. We need to be careful. I'm going to get that paneling off for you."

Jack handed him the sonic. "Can you stand?"

The Doctor nodded. Using the wall, he pulled himself slowly into a standing position, low exclamations of pain escaping his lips.

Melaina picked herself up and bent next to him, stooping under his arm and helping him up. He moaned heavily and leaned a lot of his weight one her.

"Thank you, Melaina."

She nodded and looked up towards his face, placing a steadying hand on his chest. "You good?"

He inhaled shakily and stood upright. "I'm good."

Jack nodded curtly at him. "Let's get that paneling taken care of."

"Right." In a few twirls of the sonic screwdriver, the paneling popped loose, and Jack scrambled in, squeezing his body into the small shaft.

"Say, Jack." the Doctor said as everything above Jack's waist disappeared into the shaft.

"Yeah?" Jack's voice made a ringing, yet muffled sound.

"How many pants sizes have you gone up since last time we met?"

"Shut up."

Melaina laughed.

"You're not vain at all, are you, Captain?"

"Of course not!" Jack's voice said.

The Doctor coughed.

"Ok..." Jack's voice winced. "Maybe a little. But don't tell anyone."

"Don't worry. I'm sure they all know already." the Doctor poked Jack's foot with the screwdriver. "Now hurry up!"

For several minutes, Melaina and the Doctor sat in the dark and listened to the soft pounding and thudding noises of Jack scrambling along the shaft.

"What are we going to do?" Melaina whispered.

"Well, we're going to wait. Not much else we can do."

"I see. So we just let you bleed to death?"

"I'm not human, Melaiana. I heal a bit faster"

"Yeah, but I think you're still bleeding." she felt her way to his side in the dark, ad her hand came away wet with warm blood.

"See?" she said softly. "What did they do to you? You were healing before. There wasn't any wound on the surface after Jack healed you."

"It's nothing. Honestly. I'll be fine."

She bit her lip. He was lying to her, she was pretty sure.

"How long until they start attacking people? What's going to happen to everyone?"

He sighed.

"We're going to rescue them Melaina, everyone on earth. They're going to be alright."

"You're not answering the question!" she was scared by his evasion.

"They're going to be alright. I'm going to do everything I can."

"Doctor."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. But I suspect the reason that they haven't found you and Jack in here is because they're already moving on the public. You and me and Jack are no longer their main concern."

Melaina nodded and blinked hard, willing herself not to lose control of her emotions.

"Eddie?"

"I know, I know. I'm so sorry. We're going to get out of here. We're going to save your brother; we're going to save everyone."

He reached out and touched her hand.

His touch melted her to tears, and she crumpled into her hands, sobbing.

The Doctor slid closer to her in the dark and wrapped his arms around her.

"Shh. It's alright, Melaina. Calm down." he repeated over and over, in a soothing tone.

For a moment, his touch and his voice eased her grief and panic.

And then she felt his blood soaking through her blouse to her own skin, and the calm was gone.

When the blinding light flooded the cell twenty minutes later, Melaina had to blink furiously and fight to adjust to the light. The Doctor barely responded to either the light or her attempts to get him up. She regretted now letting silence fall and letting him slip out of consciousness. They didn't have long to move though, and she had no idea how long it would take for Jack to return. She didn't allow herself to think about how terrified she was; if she started thinking she was going to start panicking and freeze. Instead, she started screaming at the Doctor and pulling him up.

"Come on! We have to move! Come on!"

It worked, and soon they were dragging themselves down the hall. Jack had taken no chances; the light was almost bright enough to blind the two escapees, not to mention the Martian guards. Melaina was faintly aware of their terrible screams of pain as they ran past -and occasionally tripped over- the collapsing aliens.

They finally stumbled out into the street that the bus had left them at only days earlier. It seemed like weeks since they'd spent the night in what they'd thought was a safe old hotel. Now, it looked like hell to Melaina.

She blinked hard, clearing the starry specks from her eyes and wondering if the blinding light had done permanent damage to her vision. The Doctor collapsed in a heap at her side.

It was night. Usually at this time of night, there was silence. Instead, Melaina and the Doctor were barely noticed as they became part of a mass confusion and panic. Gunshots, cries, screams, and martian chants of triumph filled the air.

When Melaina could see and think clearly, she realized that they were going to be trampled, and Jack didn't seem to be coming.

"Doctor, come on." she said, more gently than the last time.

He was barely coherent, and no matter how many times Melaina asked him, he didn't get up. Finally, she dragged him across the street and under a bridge, where they found at least ten other shaking, sobbing citizens.

After she'd tried to make the Doctor as comfortable as she could, she figured she should try to help the other people. Desperately, she tried to recall the first aid training she'd had in school.

"Are you all okay?" she asked, looking around. There was a considerable amount of whimpering and sobbing, but she eventually found out that there were no serious injuries. One little girl had a deep cut across her forehead, but the people under the bridge had already organized themselves a little bit, and an older lady had wrapped her handkerchief around the girl's head and was holding the child in her lap.

"What's your name?" Melaina asked the girl, brushing a loose strand of blonde hair behind the girl's ear and smiling as warmly as she could.

"Violet." the girl trembled.

"Hi, Violet. My name's Mel."

Melaina smiled as she realized that the Doctor had no idea that that was what people usually called her.

"Are you cold?" she asked.

Violet nodded, and Mel shuffled out of her brown sweater and wrapped it over the girl's shoulders.

The older woman nodded thankfully at Mel and wrapped her arms tighter around Violet's small body.

"I'm Lis." she said quietly.

"Nice to meet you Lis." Mel said.

A man sitting across from Violet and Lis interrupted.

"Is he okay?" he was pointing at the Doctor.

"Not...really." Mel glanced at Violet, then quickly added, "But he will be. Don't worry."

She knelt down next to the Doctor and examined the wound. It was still bleeding freely; or maybe it had stopped and the running-dragging-collapsing bit had started it again

"Does anyone have something I could stop the bleeding with? Maybe a scarf or a jacket they're not using?"

"I have a stocking cap." offered a teenage boy, ripping the cap off of his mop of black hair and handing it to Mel.

"Thanks..." she groped for the name as she accepted the black hat. It smelled of the latest popular teen boy cologne...Midnight, she believed it was called.

"Josh." he supplied, his green eyes studying her deeply behind the thick black eyeliner. "Do you need help with him?"

"Maybe." she smiled. "Thanks."

He nodded. "Sure."

"Do you have any medical training?"

"Nah." Josh laughed. "But I've seen plenty of blood."

Mel nodded. "Okay."

They bent over the Doctor on either side. Josh whistled when Mel pulled back the Doctor's pinstripe jacket and shirt.

"That's...very not good." he said.

"Yeah, I know. Shut up!" she hissed at him, eying Violet.

Josh lowered his voice and winked at her. "Giving me orders already, are we, madam Mel?"

She just shook her head and wrinkled her nose at him, almost grinning.

"Do you think we should try to wash the wound?" Josh asked.

"I don't know. Do we even have any water?" she looked around.

"Nah, I don't think so. Guess that means we won't be washing it."

She checked the Doctor's breathing again and sighed. "He's still breathing pretty well. I think we just need to figure out how to stop the bleeding."

"Right. Then we can go on a date, right?"

She looked up at him over the Doctor's still body.

"That absolutely has to be the weirdest way anyone has ever asked a girl out in the history of the universe." she stated. "During an alien attack over the body of a wounded man...under a bridge."

"So is that a no?" Josh asked.

"Actually, it's a yes." Mel smiled at him.


	9. Chapter 9

Melaina smiled happily as the Doctor's eyes fluttered open.

"Hey." she whispered.

"Hi." he said groggily.

"How are you feeling?" she asked gently, laying the back of her hand over his forehead. His skin was damp with sweat and fever.

"Brilliant." he moaned. "Where are we?"

Melaina stood up and adjusted the iv over the Doctor's bed. "Refugee center."

"What? How long have I been out?"

"Three days." she told him, sitting back down and handing him a glass of water.

He coughed, and she handed him a glass of water that she'd poured hours ago in anticipation.

"Three days?" he repeated, his brow wrinkling in confusion.

"I'm so glad you're awake." she breathed, forcing the water into his hand. He just held it, not making an effort to sit up.

"Can you give me an update? What's been going on?" he demanded.

"Later. You need to rest."

He raised his head from the thin pillow and grabbed her arm firmly. "I'm fine. I've been sleeping for three days. Tell me. Now."

He laid back, wincing and running his long finger over his side; but his intense gaze never wavered.

"We're in trouble." Mel told him. "So many people..." she swallowed back the metallic taste of panic and stared at her lap, forcing herself to keep calm.

Half the planet. They were going to be next.

"So many people... _what_?" the Doctor demanded.

"They're just...gone."

"They _killed _them?"

"I don't know. They just vanished. In clouds."

"How many?"

"I don't know...the radio said something like 2 billion."

He sat up, clutching his side.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I can fix this." he stood, throwing the white sheets violently across the room.

"No, you can't!" she grabbed at his arm as he stormed towards the door. "You're just one man."

"I am not just one man." he spun on her.

Suddenly, their foot-and-a-half height difference seemed like ten feet.

"I am the only remaining Time Lord. I am the Oncoming Storm. I have crushed whole species, whole planets. I have saved those who had lost all hope. The most feared race in the Universe trembles at the mention of my name. Don't tell me I'm just one man. I'm the Doctor."

Mel bit her lip and let go of his arm. "Okay." she squeaked.

He relaxed slightly and smiled at her warmly. "Don't worry. We're going to save them."

Suddenly, there was no doubt in her mind. The planet was going to be restored. They were going to be okay.

Mel left the Doctor in the hands of a few of the "medics" that had joined them at the refugee camp. He hadn't protested at all; Mel guessed that he wanted to be his best to save the human race, or whatever it was he was going to do.

She pressed a pair of sunglasses to her face as she opened the door to the infirmary and entered the hallway. It was about 2am, but the hall was impossibly bright. The camp had started forcing as much light as they could into the building during the night.

The whole world was lighting up, in fact. Everyone who knew was spreading the word that the aliens could be forced away-temporarily-by light. There was constant light everywhere; at night the streets were lit. During the day some lights were turned off to save energy, but people were afraid. They were clinging to light as their comfort and protection.

Almost everyone had witnessed the disappearance of a loved one or a stranger in the street. Mel shuddered. She'd seen so many disappearances in the last three days; she'd lost count around forty. It was still terrifying every time it happened. The person would be there, and a moment later they would be gone. Thick clouds of black hung around where the person had vanished for a good hour after the fact.

What had frightened her even more than the people who had vanished were those who'd gone crazy and flung themselves after their loved ones. There were several of them in the infirmary now. Apparently the clouds weren't portals or anything; the "jumpers", as they were being called, would simply fall through the cloud as if it wasn't there at all.

Light dissolved the clouds, as they'd found out. Many people were carrying around flashlights, glow sticks, headlamps, candles, matches, cell phones, and any other lights they could find. Of course, people had weapons too, but they were quickly learning that light was the only one that was effectively making any sort of difference.

"Come to the light." Mel whispered to herself, remembering a poem she'd memorized in grade school.

_Come to the light, come to the light_

_Come to the day that is happy and bright_

_let the sun's rays go and chase out the night_

_come far away from your fear and your fright_

_and come to the light, just come to the light. _

"How is he?" a voice broke through her thoughts.

Warm arms went around her shoulders from behind, and she leaned into the comfort.

Josh.

"He's awake." she said.

Josh turned her so that she was facing him.

"And?"

"I gave him an update. Then he got up and ran around the room and told me that he was the "Oncoming Storm."

"Do you think he can help?"

Mel remembered the feeling that the Doctor had created in her with his rant.

"No." she admitted slowly.

Josh wilted.

"I think he can _save_ us." she said, grabbing his hands. "He can save us all."

"Is he really an alien?" he asked her for the millionth time.

"I think so."

He sighed and shook his head.

She studied him carefully. He wasn't the same kid she'd met under the bridge three days earlier. His spiked hair had lost its edge and hung in rough, tangled locks around his ears and over his forehead. He had crossed two belts over his chest. One contained packs of batteries, a couple flashlights, and a few match books. On the other, he'd hung handcuffs and a tranquilizer gun. His face was hard and tired behind the sunglasses. She guessed she looked something similar. Minus the belts.

Josh had become one of the main leaders of the camp very quickly. He was one of the main reasons that life within the camp was so well organized. He'd organized rations and a few men to be in charge of guarding and distributing things like food and batteries, as well as rescue teams to bring people to the safety of the camp. Most of us carried a set of handcuffs or a piece of rope; hysteria was at such a high rate that everyone in the camp was taught and given resources to restrain others without seriously injuring or killing them. Mel believed that it was something like what a zombie apocalypse would look like.

Mel had been asked by many of the leaders at the camp to take more authority; after all, she and Josh had started the camp with the group of people under the bridge at the beginning.

She could hardly believe that it had only been three days. She could only vaguely remember it; she and the seventeen people-eventually thirty four- under the bridge had stayed there for almost a whole night, she and Lis; the older woman, and Josh trying to keep people calm.

Josh had gone out with two other men, Steven and Alex, around 3 in the morning and broke into the music hall of a local university only to find that others were already gathered there, huddling in corners in the dark. They had all moved to the building.

That had been the worst part. That was the first five disappearances Mel saw; making the group twenty-nine in number by the time they had made it into the building.

And the camp had just grown from there. Mel had long ago lost track of how may people were part of the camp, which now expanded to four of the surrounding campus buildings.

Despite her influence in the birth of the camp, she had firmly turned down any pleas to be a leader. She was going on several rescue missions a day, and was comforting and giving reassurance to as many refugees as she could, but her main concern was the Doctor. She was faintly clinging to what Martha had told her: _I really need you. He needs you. So much...I'm sorry...it's got to be you._

There was little rational justice for Mel believing that this was true, but she forced herself to cling to it. She wondered if her silly little belief was the only thing keeping her from jumping through a dark cloud or having to be restrained by one of the refugees.

She and Josh had bonded. He wanted her as his right hand, but she decided to take a more traditional woman's role; insofar as she was his support and comfort.

"When is the next rescue group going out?" she asked.

"We're leaving as soon as it's dawn. You coming?"

She shook her head.

"I can't...I can't leave him. He's just woken up, I want to help him know what's going on."

Josh nodded.

"Be safe out there, k?"

He drew her to him and kissed her; she tasted the sweat and dust and canned vegetables as she kissed back.


End file.
